Well, let’s put on our thinking caps and start a little logic session. While we don’t know exactly when the Disney Parks will reopen, we can consider a multitude of things that will have to happen BEFORE Disney will consider letting anyone back through those gates.

We Need to See Many Of The Following Things Happen Before Disneyland and Disney World Reopen Their Gates

As excited as we are to return to the parks, we can’t ignore what makes a theme park what it is. Disney World and Disneyland are GLOBAL destinations that attract millions of people.

Walt Disney World

Even on the slowest days, the parks are filled with guests, tight crowds, and shared surfaces where germs can spread easily. So in the midst of everything going on, it makes sense that Disney Parks would not be one of the first businesses on the all-clear list.

So, what needs to happen for Disney World and Disneyland to reopen? Does America have to be at zero cases? Here are a few indicating factors we can likely rely on.

However, the U.S. efforts to “flatten the curve” may spread the closures over more time to avoid exceeding healthcare capacity. This could lead to a longer timeline of park closures and we will likely see other parks like Tokyo, Shanghai, and Paris opening before the parks in the U.S..

Things Will Need to Start Improving in the U.S.

For the safety of everyone involved, it’s difficult to picture Disney opening before we start to see the rate of transmission slow and start to see cases and deaths go down each day.

America will need to figure out a way to control the number of cases and make it to the other side of the curve. The timeline for this is unknown.

And before Disney World and Disneyland open to the public, we’ll likely need to see the CDC approve large gatherings again.

Disneyland Main Entrance

Previously, the Disney Parks were excluded from what were considered “large public gatherings” that were ceased. But obviously, hoards of visitors is the name of the game at Disney, so it was in the public’s best interest that Disney ultimately made the decision to include themselves and close.

But First, California and Florida Would Need to Lift Mandates

Disney stating that their California and Florida parks being closed “until further notice” is like a safety net extending into our uncertain future.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

A LOT of things are going to need to change before we can start driving in to work every day — much less sharing a super-stretch limo with Aerosmith and a few thousand of our closest friends.

The state of California, and Orange and Osceola Counties in Florida, will have to lift their states of emergency and other mandates or Disney will have to work out a deal to begin operating in a way that abides by health considerations.

Orange County International Airport

Florida currently has a self-quarantine mandate for flights from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, so if these bans are lifted, it may be a sign that the state is trending toward stability.

Orange County International Airport

Before thousands of people would be allowed to gather in a Disney Park, we would expect smaller-scale gatherings like schools, health clubs and gyms, and restaurants to resume normal operations.

Supply Chain Will Need To Be Somewhat Re-established

If you’ve been to the grocery store in the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed some supply and demand issues (are water bottles and toilet paper the newest form of currency in your neck of the woods too?).

Although much of the low stock is due to unnecessary hoarding, factories, processing plants, restaurants, and stores around the world have also been shutting down, poking holes in the supply chain. As time goes on, we may see more closures — causing even more issues for companies across the country.

Grand Ballroom

On an international level, many goods are shipped in from other countries. Since this is a global situation, there may be shortages due to closures internationally or limited resources for international shipping of goods.

As Florida and California residents start to return to normal life, it may take some time for orders of raw materials, food, paper products, and processed items to catch up enough for a vacation resort to run smoothly.

Disney Has To Find a New Normal When It Comes To Operations

So once things DO start to improve and the parks reopen, what then? Will it be business as usual? Probably not, at least not for a while. Up until this point, Disney has not faced a closure like this, so it’s only natural that they will have to reassess several parts of their usual modes of operation after the latest events.

Disneyland Main Entrance

There are several challenges they will have to overcome to continue to bring the Disney magic while protecting their guests.

Will Disney Open The Parks in Phases? With Limited Capacity?

It will take some time for Disney to decide exactly how they want to reopen once they get confirmation from health officials that it’s safe to do so. It’s possible the parks will open in a modified format (at least for a while) as an extra precaution to protect guests.

Animal Kingdom Entrance during the Holidays

This could include opening shopping and resort hotel areas first, as Shanghai is doing, offering limited capacity in parks and restaurants, and/or modifying attractions to support health officials’ recommendations.

Disney Will Need To Bring In And Manage Resources and Cast Members Differently

During the closure, Disney is abiding by recommendations from government and health officials. But the company will face its own set of challenges to figure out how park operations will continue after interruptions in their staffing and resources.

Disney will be tasked with planning a window of time to hire or re-instate Cast Members, train them, and be ready for the date the parks actually open.

Walt Disney World Cast Members

Cast Members new and old will need training on the parks’ new approach. It could take days, weeks, or months to train the staff, and that would all have to happen after state and local governments lift the emergency mandates.

Other Resources

With the recent disruptions in the supply chain, will Disney be able to source enough food and resources to open restaurants and continue construction or maintenance projects?

Disney will be walking into uncharted territory as they estimate the amount of food and supplies they will need(and need to obtain) when they really don’t know how many guests to expect in those first few months.

It’s hard to imagine having to essentially restock an entire theme park with food, merchandise, and supplies. We haven’t seen a closure of this scale before, so predicting initial needs and crowds will be difficult.

Disney Will Have To Ensure Guest Safety

According to Disney, their top priority is the health and safety of their guests and Cast Members. After a global health crisis of this magnitude, the stakes are high for theme parks packed with people from around the world. So how do they do it?

In their language on the website, Disney is leaving room for an earlier reopening. But for now, we’d recommend if you have a trip booked between now and the end of May that you contact Disney to determine your best options.

“Until further notice” was hard to read because it reminds us of just how uncertain the situation is. We know this vague announcement may be frustrating as a guest because it can leave your plans up in the air, but we want you to feel empowered to keep track of the current situation and make the best decisions for you and your family. We will continue to keep you posted with any new information and, as always, we’re here to help!

Comments

My hope is that when the parks finally reopen, they stagger attendance … at first, only guests with On-Site Resort Reservations should be allowed. Second, guests at “friendly neighborhood hotels” that are booked with WDW packages. Third, Annual Pass holders w/out resort reservations. Then finally, single day tickets.

Letting everyone go at once would be a huge mistake and I think the fairest way is to give those with paid reservations the first chance. Especially considering they pay a lot more money then everyone else.

Please Disney, do not rush to reopen. Make sure the doctors and scientists have declared it safe to do. You also have to consider your vendors and suppliers. They have to be up and running before you. I want to come back when it is safe.

I think June 1st is just a speculation and that it may be closer to August/September, if everything goes well with the Corona Virus slowing down an acceptable amount for everyone to open. Too many people are involved within and without the gates of Disney World. The “new normal” will not be the same as before.